2016’s Best and Worst Metro Areas for STEM Professionals

Personal finance website WalletHub recently released a report on the best and worst metro areas for STEM professionals, and the results are quite interesting – well, depending on the city in which you currently reside. WalletHub’s analysts took 100 of the most populated metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) across the nation and evaluated each based on 16 metrics that were ranked on a scale from 0 to 100 (0 being the worst and 100 being the best). Here’s what they found.

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers are among the most desirable careers to have nowadays, because of their high salaries and solid occupational outlook. In fact, it’s expected that STEM jobs will grow 1.7 times faster than non-STEM professions from 2010 and 2020, according to stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Individuals currently in one of the STEM fields or pursuing an education in STEM will want to take a look at this study. For the same reason college students should look into attending a college that offers them the maximum return on investment for their given degree, professionals should consider which cities offer them the most bang for their buck when it comes to their career trajectory.

WalletHub’s report analyzed 100 of the highest-populated metro areas in the nation across 16 metrics, including: job openings for STEM graduates per 1,000 residents, percentage of all workers in STEM jobs, projected number of STEM jobs needed in 2020, unemployment rates for residents with at least a bachelor’s degree, number of engineering universities in top 100 U.S. News & World Report ranking, and more. Here are the five best and five worst metro areas in the nation for STEM professionals, according to the study.

Based on the findings, it appears that the West Coast is more favorable for STEM professionals overall than the East Coast, Florida in particular. To see how your city or state ranks, head over to WalletHub to find out.

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How did your city/state rank on the list and what are your thoughts about it? Share your thoughts with our community on Twitter or in the comments section below.